Automobile-tire tread.



W. H. HENDERSON.

' AUTOMOBILE TIRE TREAD.

APPLlCAT'lON FILED SEPT-25, 1915.

1,189,569. Patented July 4,1916.

6 W- H-HENDEKSON' /5 I r I fa? I I floautoz in; Qconnected together and designed. to extend WILLIAM H. nnnnnnson, F OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

AUTOMOBILE-TIRE TREAD.

v i To all it may concern:

Be it known that 1-, WILLIAM H. HEN- pnRsoN, a citizen of the United States, residin at Omaha, in the'countyof Douglas and t'ate of Nebraska, have'invente'd certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile-Tire Treads, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

0 This invention comprehends certain new detachable and useful improvements, in treads fortlres of automobiles, motor veighicles, -andthe-like, and relates particularly to a metallic "tread, of this character conrcumferentially around gthe tire, 'detacha-bly' held thereon.

: The'invention has for i mobile tire tread, the parts so arranged -ps herical form,

SlI'GdlSI'ilClllVG effect or act on,

structed in-a plurality of sections .movably and be its primary object a durable and efficient construction of auto- .of which are and movably connected together that the tread will yield in every required direction with the tire and in 'nowise detract from the resiliencethereof, while. at the same time the tread will protect the tire from'wear to a maximum degreeyas well as from punctures, and increase the life and service Tof the tire to a considerable extent.

The invention has for a further object an improved tire tread of this type, the parts of which are so formed and arranged that thetread may be very quickly applied to a tire and quickly removed therefrom when desired-and wherein the sections of the 'treadare preferably provided with knobs orprotuberances of substantiallyhemiwhich will impart the de-,

as well as prevent skidding'and spinning of the wheels and which will at the same time not be liable to become packed. with mud, ice or snow.

a metallic sectional automobile tire tread provided with improvedmeans whereby it Specification of Letters latent'.

1 the tire, mately on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is A still. further object of theinvention is times maintained in I And the in:

' Patented July 4, 1916.

. Application filed September 25,1915. Serial no. 52,588.

vices of this class so as to render them more useful and commercially desirable.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, arrangements and combinations of the parts-that I shall hereinafter more fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention,

'- reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in

Figure-1 is a side view of a portion of a wheelequipped with my improved detachable tire tread, parts being broken away. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view through the section being taken approxia detail or fragmentary view illustrating on a larger scale the movable connection between the two adjacent tread sections. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section on the line 4.- l of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a similar view showing one of the rivets for holding the felt or similar lining in place, and Fig. 6 is a detail section on the line 66 of Fig. 1.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and .desig-' nated in all of the viewsof the accompanying drawing by like reference characters.

My improved made up of any desired number of preferably metallic sections 1, {of transversely bowed form, as shown, and of any desired size, both transversely and longitudinally considered, as the requirements of the case may' demand, each section being at least of a length to exceed that part of the tire that is, in contact with the ground when the tire is fully inflated, whereby should the tire run flat, the tire will not mash down over the ends'the shields or sections 1 and be injured by them.- The shields or sections 1 detachable tire tread is' extend circumferentially of the tire, as

clearly illustrated in Fig. 1, and overlap at their ends, each section being formed at both sides in its" underlying end with apertures to receive rivets or pivot member-s 2,

and theoverlying ends of adjacent sections the required hinged movement between the 4 terminating at oneend in a preferably curved portion 5, whereby m icence sections will be provided for, and the sections yield and move readily in an articulate manner, both circumferentially' and radially, so as to conniensat'e for allshocks and the like that are imposed upon the tire in service. Preferably the slots 3 are formed place at these points, all otthe other see tions being preferably permanently connected together as hereinbetore described. To apply the tread to a tire, the latter is partially deflected, and the tread passedaround the tire in an evident manner, and the heads of the rivets 2 atthc then open or disconnected portion of the tread are passed through the enlargements 8 and into the slots 3, in which said enlargements are formed, whereupon plugs 9 are inserted up through the enlargements 8 that are preterably counter-sunk on their inner sides, said plugs being held in place in any desired way, as by cotter pins 10, and it will thus be secnthat the tread will thereby be held in place upon the tire. Preferably each shield or section 1 has a lining 11 of felt or the like, secured to its inner face hylrivets 12 of any desired construction, such as will be not liable to tear out or injure the tire or felt, those linings tending to prevent the tire from becouninp hot or from other in-.

jury by the use of the tread.

The tread may be secured upon the tire in any desired way, in addition to the means hcreinhefore described. In the present em bodiincnt of the invention, 1 have shown clamping members, each of which consists of a strap 13 designed to extend across the telly of the wheeland be secured thereon by buckles or the like, said straps being connected to springs li that are provided at their outer ends with hooks 15 designed to engage in circumferential slots liiormed in some of the sections, the springs tending to compress and thereby at all times exerting a strain in an inward radial direction which will result in snugly holding the tread in position, even though the tire should become partially deflected in use or receive 801110 violent shock which will tend to unduly depress it at any point. Any desired number of these clamping members may be employed, within the purvlciv of my in reution.

Preferably each shield or section I is providcd with any desired number of preterably hemispherical knobs or protuliuurancce 18 which will prevent skidding and spinning of the wheels in qniclr starting, hard pull, or a' lllllClllill), and as these knobs are substantially hcn'iispherical in form, as above stated, it is obvious that they will not be liable to become clogged with mud, ice or snow.

From the ii'oregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that l have provided a very durable and cllicient construction of detachable tire tread in which the shields or sections are so connected together that the tread will yield both radially and circumlerentially, as required in the service of the tire, so that the device will not detract in any way from the resilience of the tire, while at the same time 'it will fully protect it and increase its longevity in service to a maximum degree.

In the preferred manufacture of. this dcrice, the inside diameter of the metallic tread. when coupled together at the ends, and the rivets are drawn up into their re spcctlve corners oi the slots 3 and 5, should be approximately one-quarter of an inch less than the outside diameter of the tire when fully inflated, so that the tread will he held firmly in place on the tire by the pressure of the air on inside of same, For when a heavy automobile is being propelled forward, by the adhesion of the tread and contact with the ground, there will be a great tendency for the tread to slip circunifercntially on the tire. The springs liand straps 15} should not be depended upon to hold the tread upon the tire. All they are intended for to draw the tread up to the tire in care): tlu: tire loses air.

Rivets or pivot members 2 must be solid ly, firmly, and in a fixed manner, secured in the underlying shields and must be large enough in diameter to give strength to the tread, for manifestly the tread can only he as strong as the rivets are. There must be just enough play between the heads oi? the rivets and the upper sides of the overlapping shields, and just enough play between the sides of the rivets and the edges of the slots 3, to permit the rivets to travel smoothly and freely in either directioi'i within the slots. 'llicsc rivets are prclcw ably so disposed that they will lie at the juncture oi the slots ll and 5, as shown in Fig. 1 and more clearly in Fig. 5i. lly positioning the rivet at this point the two shields are adapted to move cirru11ntcrcntially as well asrzuliall aiul byuiuansoit this rivet are always nuiiutaincd in their cooperative relation irrespective of the condilion oi the tire, whether inflated or dellatcd. This rivet provides a pivotal connection between the adjacent shields so that Mill if one end of the'shield meets an obstruction on the road, tending todepress that shield upon thet'ire, it will move inwardly and. the, rivet will? also move ward the rim of the wheel. .As the rivet which is connected to one of the'sections moves inward, this rivet tends to ride in the arcuate slot 5 and thus maintain the separate shieldstogether In meeting an ordinary obstructihn the rivets 'lying .at-the juncture of the two-slots, allow each sh'ield tov rotate around the axiso that rivet. The circumferential slot 't" s toallow for any creeping action of hields. If the rivets are not stationary in 5e underlying shields, they will bind and reuse to travel the full length of the slots.

In order to moreeasily couple the. shields' together, two of them may be provided with recesses 8 formed at one end of the slot 3. One ormore of thesh'ields may be made of less length than the regular one or usual length so that variations in the diameters or circumferenceof tires will not affect the use or application of the assembled shields. These shorter sections are identical in construction with the regular shields only in;

thatthey have a recess S'formed at oneend of the slot 3,

coupling shields provide a method whereby ofv an inch variations by fractional parts may be readily-taken care of and a complete tread formed of assembled shields. By means of these coupling shields, anyone, not necessarily a machinist, can slip in a long or short one to obtain the desired tread length. In order to apply the tread to a tire, it will becoupled together with a coupling shield to make the desired sizejof inside diameter of tread. Then, the plugs 9 are slipped into place up through the enlargements 8 and. secured with cotter pins 10, the wheel is then jacked up, the inside of the tread is hung onto half its predetermined maximum capacity, and the straps buckled firmly around the tally of the wheel.

flated, and the springs 15 will then be distended and will have power to draw the tread up should the tire lose air.

I lVhile the accompanying drawing illustrates what I believe to be the preferred embodiment oi my invention, it is .to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but that various changes may be I made in the construction, arrangements and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed, is:

1. A tire tread of the character described comprisinga plurality of shields arranged inwardly toincluding a as shown in Fig. 1. Thus the members secured to the underlying portions 'of' each section being angular slot, one portion of. said slot ex the wheel, the tire then" deflated until the tread will slip over it all around, and then the tire is inflated about;

Then the tire is fully .in-

in overlapping relation to-each other and having a closed angular slot'formed ineach of the overlapping portions, each ,one' of said slots. including a straight portion extending circumferentiallyand another fpor-f tion connected thereto of arcuate orm curving inwardly toward the rim ,of the wheel and toward theadjacentjend ofvthe and p vot members seoverlapping section,

cured tothe respective underlying: shields each one being ireely- 2. A tire tread of thecharacter described comprising aplurality of circumferentially extending transversely curved sections arranged in overlapping relation to each other at their ends, each section being provided at both sides in its overlapping portion with a comprising a substantially semi-circular projection in which the slot is located, said slot circumfe'rentially extending straight portion and another portion of arcuate form curving inwardly toward the rim ofthewheel and toward the adjacent end of the overlapping section, and pivotal closed angular slot, the overlapping portion of the sections and each freely movable' in the; slot of the overlapping portions, the normal position of each of said pivotal memhers being at the juncture of the two por ing substantially semi-circular in form and arranged inoverlapping relation to each the overlapping portions other at their ends,

formed with a closed tending circumferentially and another portion connected thereto of arcuate form and curving inwardly toward the rim of the wheel and toward the adjacent end of the overlapping-section, anda pivotal member to connect each of said sections together and freely movable in one of said slots, each on'e of said pivotal members being normally positioned at the juncture of the two portions composing the slot.

4-. A tire tread of the character described comprising a plurality of circumferentially extending, transversely bowed sections arranged'in overlapping relation to each other, at their ends, each section being provided at one end with a slot includingportions angularly positioned with reference to each other, one portion of said slot having straight sides extending circumferentially, the other portion of said slot being arcuate in form and curving inwardly toward the rim of the wheel and toward the adjacent end of the overlapping section, certain of the sections being provided with an enhirgrniont at the end of the first named portion of the slob to permit the assembly of the sections as 2L continuous trend, :1 retaining plug cooper Ming; with the enhirgenionb and provided with fastening means to prevent accidental witiuih-ziwnl, the several portions of the sioi. being continuous with each other and with the eniorgeznent, and a pivot memher carried by eachone of the sections to cooperate with each one of the slots, said pivot member being normally positioned at the nnoture of the two portions of the slot. In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

WiLLmM H. HENDERSON.

Witnesses Lo'r'rin W. MARTIN, Gunner: A. MAGNEY. 

